After All This Time
by FlyWithDamagedWings
Summary: Axel and Roxas have been best friends almost their entire lives. Now Roxas is a high school senior and Axel has been away at college for almost a year. And when he comes home for a visit, things between them turn into little more than just friends. But when Axel messes up, it could hurt more than just the friendship. - Cover Image by Nijuuni on deviantArt
1. Prologue: Dreaming

The blonde and the redhead were laying on the grassy ground, gazing up at the stars together. Every so often their outer arms shot up, pointing out particular stars and constellations. But their inside arms stayed put so they could hold hands, their fingers intertwined. It was a peaceful night and they were enjoying each other's company.

"Hey Axel," the blonde spoke up.

"Yeah Roxas?" the redhead replied.

"How did we end up this way?"

"What do you mean?"

"How did we end up together…like this?"

Axel shrugged. "Does it matter?"

Roxas then took his hand back and propped himself up on his elbows. "It's just that…we've known each other practically all our lives. So how did this never happen before? Or how did it not happen sooner?"

"You're thinking too much about it," he told him.

"Well, is this legit?"

"I'm not sure I'm following."

He sighed. Then he rolled and Roxas was over Axel. He had one hand on each side of his head and one knee on each side of his hips. Then blue eyes met green eyes.

"R-Roxas!" he stuttered. "What are you doing?"

"Something we should've done a long time ago."

The blonde leaned forward and kissed the redhead. At first, caught by surprise, Axel's eyes remained wide open. But as the kiss deepened, his eyes fluttered shut and he wrapped his arms around Roxas's waist…


	2. Chapter One: Scheming

Axel shot up, breathing somewhat heavily. He caught his breath and lay back down in his empty bed—he had no sheets or covers—thinking about the dream. He and Roxas had grown up together; they were best friends. But never had there been any hints towards something that could lead to an actual relationship. And now Axel was romantically dreaming about Roxas almost every single night.

Maybe it didn't mean anything. Maybe it was because Axel's roommate had a boyfriend. Maybe it was because he had been away at college for a year now, while Roxas was still a senior in high school. Maybe it was because he was going home for a surprise visit before his last final and couldn't wait to see his best friend again.

Or maybe it wasn't.

Either way, Axel knew that he wouldn't be telling Roxas about these dreams. He would tell him everything else about college, but not the dreams. The dreams would remain a secret.

He finally climbed out of bed once his alarm went off at long last. He quickly dismissed it, hoping not to wake his roommate. It was too late, though; his roommate stirred in bed and turned to face the redhead.

"What the hell, Axel?" he groaned. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I'm going home for a visit, Demyx. Remember?" he reminded his roommate.

"I didn't realise you were leaving so damn early in the morning."

"What does it matter?"

"Zexion was gonna stop by and spend the night. He won't be around till this afternoon, though."

"Well, tell him that I said hi, then, and that I'm sorry I couldn't be here."

"All right, will do."

"Go back to sleep now."

"You don't have to tell me twice." He rolled over again and almost instantly fell back asleep.

As Axel got dressed, he thought about the day ahead of him. First he would take a bus to the train station. Then he would take the train to Twilight Town. That would be a very long ride. But from there Riku would be picking him up. Then he would take Axel to the high school before school gets out so he could surprise Roxas. He smiled at his slyness. Riku was the only one in their group of friends who knew that Axel was visiting. Roxas was clueless, as well as Sora, Kairi and Naminé. But Axel only really cared about surprising Roxas.

When he finished getting ready, he hurried out of his dorm, grabbing a quick something for breakfast. No one else wake awake yet, but he preferred that. Then he reached the bus stop just in time to catch it. He jumped onto the bus and took an empty seat in the middle, but more towards the back. He looked around; most of the bus was empty and that made it quiet. It wasn't too long of a bus ride, though, so he kept himself awake for it. And when the bus reached the train station, he rushed off it. But now he had to wait for the train. By this time, it was barely six o'clock in the morning. Then when the train finally arrived, it was six o'clock in the morning. He climbed aboard and took another empty seat. Again, there were still few people on the train. And since it was going to be a long ride, he dozed in and out of sleep. Seven and a half hours later he came to his destination. He stepped off the train and quickly found his next ride. The silver haired teen was leaning against his blue car, smiling. Axel smiled back.

"Hey Riku," he greeted his friend.

"Hey Axel," he replied. "How have you been?"

"Well, right now I'm just tired from waking up so early, and then sitting all day," he answered. "But college has been good."

"That's good."

"How are you?"

"I'm great."

The two friends continued to talk as they climbed into Riku's car and started for the high school. Axel listened to Riku's words. He had decided not to attend college that year so he could stay with Sora. The two of them had been together for three years now; they had pretty much been high school sweethearts. Riku also mentioned Kairi and Naminé. Then he started to talk about Roxas and that's what sparked Axel's interest. He mentioned how Roxas was doing and how he was still single, just like the girls.

"How about school?" Axel questioned.

"What about it?"

"How is he doing in school?"

"Oh." He laughed. "He's doing perfectly fine. I mean, it's Roxas. He's a straight 'A' student, just like you were."

"Good."

He smiled again. "He misses you. He is going to be so happy when he sees you get out of this car."

Axel returned the smile. "I've missed him, too."

"Just him?"

"No. Obviously I've missed all of you."

"But…?"

"But nothing."

He laughed again. "But you've missed Roxas the most, right?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

He continued to laugh. "It's okay."

"Where are you going with this?"

"I'm not going anywhere."

Just then, Axel's phone vibrated. He took it from his pocket to see that he had received a text.

"Who is it?" Riku asked.

"It's Roxas, actually." He read the text message.

"What does it say?"

"He said that he can't wait to graduate and be out of high school forever."

Riku laughed once again. "That's Roxas for you. He excels at school, but he can't stand to be there. I think it's just because you're not around anymore."

"I doubt that," he denied.

"Hey, I'm just thinking out loud."

Axel's phone vibrated again. "Now he's calling me."

"Pick it up!"

"Don't talk," he said back. Then he answered his phone. "You're in school," he stated.

"I know," Roxas's voice whispered back.

"Then why are you calling me?"

"I needed to ask you something."

"And it couldn't wait until school got out?"

"No."

He laughed. "What is it?"

"Are you coming home before your last final? I mean, it's not for another week, right?"

"Yeah, it is, but…" he sighed, trailing off. "I'm sorry Rox, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it."

"But…graduation…"

"I know. I hate the fact that I'll miss it, but I have too much going on and it's just a really long trip to have to take an extra two times."

"Oh." He sounded disappointed. "Okay."

"Hey, I'll call you later."

"All right. Bye Ax."

"Bye." He hung up.

"What did he want?" Riku wondered.

"To know if I would be coming home before my last final."

"You had to lie to him? That sucks."

"He sounded really disappointed, too."

"Well, it'll be worth it when we get to the high school. Now he's gonna be even more surprised."

"No kidding."

The rest of the car ride was spent mostly in silence, except for the music playing on Riku's iPod.

"Just in time," Riku spoke up as they stopped in front of the main entrance of the Twilight Town high school. "School's just about to get out."

"Should I stay in here for now?"

"Yeah, come out when…well, you'll know when."

Riku climbed out of his car.

Axel waited.


	3. Chapter Two: The Surprise

"This is the longest it's ever taken for that damn bell to ring," Roxas complained to his cousin. "I swear," he kept looking at his phone for the time, "time has either slowed down or it's halted altogether."

Sora laughed. "The bell will ring before you know it. You only feel like it's taking so long because this is our last real day of school before we graduate."

"But I feel like it should've gone off ten minutes ago!"

He continued to laugh. "Relax, Rox."

He sighed and sat back in his chair. He was anxious and tense, but he didn't fully understand why.

Maybe it was because he had just learned that Axel still wouldn't be home for a whole other week. Maybe it was because he had so been looking forward to seeing his best friend again after almost an entire year, but then realised that he wouldn't be seeing him after all. Maybe it was because he wasn't gonna have the chance to see him graduate. Maybe it was his true disappointment.

Or maybe it wasn't.

Either way, Roxas wouldn't be seeing Axel this week. Sure, he'd be seeing him next week, but he wouldn't be home when Roxas wanted him home. And that did upset the blonde. He had been looking forward to seeing Axel for a quite a few months. Now he felt as if he had been shot down…rejected…denied.

Why?

He wasn't entirely sure. But his train of thought was interrupted when the bell finally rang.

Roxas and Sora jumped out of their seats and bolted out of the classroom. Halfway down the hall, they met with two girls at their lockers.

"Hello boys," one girl greeted them.

"Hey Kairi," Sora replied. "Hey Naminé," he acknowledged the other girl.

Naminé smiled back. "Hi."

"C'mon, I wanna get out of here," Roxas said back.

"What's the hurry?" Naminé wondered.

"He probably can't wait to see Axel," Kairi figured.

"That's right, he's visiting this weekend," Sora remembered.

"No he's not. He won't be home till next weekend."

"What?" Kairi and Naminé exclaimed together as they closed their lockers.

"That's what he told me when I called him about five minutes ago."

"Well that sucks," Sora stated.

"No kidding," Roxas mumbled.

The four friends then exited the school. They spotted Riku all at the same time. But Sora was a little quicker to reach the silver haired teen and give his boyfriend a tight hug. The others caught up soon after.

"What are you doing here?" Sora questioned after pulling away from the embrace.

"I figured I'd give you guys a ride home," Riku answered.

Kairi smiled. "Awe, thanks."

"That's sweet of you," Naminé added.

He returned the smile. "Hey Rox, have you talked to Axel?"

"Yeah."

"And…?"

Roxas shook his head. "He can't make it this weekend."

"What? Ugh, that blows." He sighed. "Well, we gotta head back to the house now," he then quickly made a subject change. "Let's get going." He returned to his car. "Roxas, you can sit shotgun."

He chuckled a little. "All right."

Riku smiled again and opened the passenger's side door.

Roxas stepped forward, but stopped as someone climbed out of the car. His blue eyes lit up when he saw that they were staring at red spiky hair and emerald eyes. He rushed up to his best friend and hugged him tightly. Laughing, Axel hugged him back.

"You said you weren't gonna make it until next week."

"That's because I wanted to surprise you."

Roxas broke away from the hug and turned to Riku. "How long have you know about this?"

Riku shrugged. "We planned this about a month ago."

"You planned this?" Sora replied.

"Wait, you three didn't know about this either?" Roxas realised.

"We had no idea," Kairi denied.

"You two are sneaky," Naminé said, smirking.

"Yeah, we know," Riku agreed. "Let's get back to the house now," he then suggested.

"But there's not enough room in your car for all six of us," Sora pointed out.

"Naminé and I are skinny," Kairi said back. "We'll manage to fit."

"Or Roxas and I can walk," Axel suggested. He looked over at his best friend. "If he doesn't mind, that is."

"It's not a very far walk," Roxas replied.

"Okay," Sora said shortly. He jumped into the passenger's seat.

"Are you sure?" Naminé checked, waiting for Kairi to climb into the back and slide across to the other side.

"Positive," Axel confirmed.

"All right." She got into the car as well.

"We'll see you guys back at the house," Riku said before getting back into the driver's seat. "Have fun!" he called out the window as he drove off.

Axel and Roxas watched until Riku's car was out of sight. Then they started on their walk.

"I can't believe you're actually here," Roxas spoke up. "I can't believe you lied to me!"

"I wasn't going to spoil the surprise at the last minute," Axel replied. "Sorry I upset you so much, though."

"You didn't upset me that much."

"Roxas, I could hear the disappointment in your voice." He paused. "Why were you so upset anyway?"

"Because I haven't seen you since you left for college almost a year ago. I mean, you never visited."

He sighed. "I know. I've just had a really busy freshman year and I feel terrible for not being able to visit. Next year will be better, though."

"Why did you even have to go to college? Why couldn't you have stayed home like Riku did?"

"Riku stayed home to be with Sora."

"So?"

"So…I didn't have a boyfriend to stay home for. Or a girlfriend, in that matter."

"But you had me," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Okay," he replied. "Besides, I wanted to go to college, Rox."

"You could've done online college or whatever."

"No, that's stupid."

"Well, how do you like college, then?"

"I like it a lot."

"That's good."

"Yeah. I mean, the professors are great. And it's really easy to get along with the other students."

"What about your roommate?"

"Demyx? Oh, he's hilarious. He has his moronic moments, but he's awesome. And he's majoring in music, but he's still in my writing class because he writes his own lyrics. So we've been helping each other throughout the year."

"That's lucky."

"Yeah. His boyfriend, Zexion, is over a lot, too."

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah, he has a boyfriend."

"Has he ever tried hitting on you?"

"Who? The boyfriend or my roommate?"

"Well, either of them, I guess."

"No, no. Demyx has been dating Zexion since long before college. They're both really good guys and are very committed to one another. I think the rest of you would like them a lot."

"Are we ever gonna meet them?"

He shrugged. "Maybe you could if you come visit me at college."

"I can do that?"

He laughed. "Yes, you can do that. That's what Zexion does all the time. They're like you and me." He paused. "Minus the whole relationship thing, of course."

"Right because we're not in a relationship."

"No…no, we're not."

And with that, they fell utterly silent.


	4. Chapter Three: Welcome Home

Axel and Roxas walked in silence for a good while now. And it was during this time the redhead thought the dream; the one of him and Roxas actually being in a relationship. He thought about if that dream meant anything or if there was a chance it could ever become a reality. And he wondered if the blonde walking beside him had ever had similar dreams or experiences. He was too afraid to ask him, though. He was afraid of making things awkward and possibly losing the greatest friendship he'd ever had. So he decided to just keep his mouth shut.

But that was only unless Roxas said something first.

"So…" Roxas then broke the silence, "do you have a girlfriend?"

"Nah, no relationships for me."

"At all?"

"No, I just meant that I'm not in one. I did have a few dates over the course of the year, but nothing ever turned serious."

"Oh, okay."

"And Riku mentioned you're single, too."

"I am."

"Really? A great guy like you?"

He tried to hide a blush. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that you're a good guy," he stated. "You're funny and nice and easy to talk to. Plus, you're cute when you're embarrassed," he added, noticing the blush.

"Shut up."

He laughed. "It's okay, Rox."

His blush deepened when Axel put his hand on his shoulder. He looked into the green eyes of his best friend and practically lost his breath. There was something in those eyes now that he had never noticed before. And he couldn't help but wonder if Axel saw the same in his blue eyes.

"You okay Roxas?" Axel spoke up. "You seem really flustered."

Roxas shook his head. "I'm fine." He looked around. "We stopped walking."

Axel's hand dropped from Roxas's shoulder. "So we have." He sighed. "C'mon, we don't wanna take too long."

"I don't think the others will mind," he protested. "Besides, it's a nice day out, so we should take our time."

"Roxas, I'm exhausted. I woke up really early and took a bus ride and a seven and a half hour train ride. I'm sorry, but I just wanna get to the house and relax."

"If you're so tired then why did you volunteer us to walk?"

"Are you mad at me, Rox?"

"No," he denied. "I could never be mad at you, Axel."

"Good to know."

"Could you ever get angry with me?"

He smiled. "I don't think so, no."

"Good."

The walk continued in even more silence. Axel looked around Twilight Town, taking in all the sights he hadn't seen in such a long time. Then his eyes landed on the blonde walking beside him. An odd sensation swept over him and he suddenly felt the urge to hold that soft face in his hands and run his fingers through that blonde spikey hair. He longed to hold his best friend, whom he hadn't seen in so long. Axel wanted to wrap his arms around Roxas and just pull him into himself and keep him close and in a tight embrace. Yet, all this time, Roxas wasn't even paying attention.

"Welcome home," Roxas suddenly spoke up, stopping.

Axel stopped as well and looked at the house before them. They then headed up the walkway and entered the place. They made their way to the living room to see the others sitting around eating sea salt ice cream.

"There are two more for you guys in the freezer," Riku told them before they could say anything.

"I'll get them," Roxas volunteered. He exited the room and entered the next one over.

"How was the walk?" Kairi asked.

"It was nice."

"What did you two talk about?" Naminé wondered.

"Why do you need to know?"

"We're just wondering," Sora replied.

Axel shrugged. "Let's just say that I got a lot of thinking done during the walk."

Roxas then returned from the kitchen. He handed Axel one of the ice creams, keeping the other for himself. He sat down, asking, "What are we gonna do now?"

"I don't know," Riku replied. He heaved a great sigh, leaning back on the couch and putting his arm around Sora. "We could do anything, really."

"Let's play a game," Kairi thought aloud.

"Not truth or dare," Axel denied before it could even be suggested. He knew the girls well enough to know that that would be the game.

Sora smirked. "Why not? Do you have something to hide?"

"Stop teasing him," Naminé said back.

"Yeah Sora, stop teasing me."

"Shut up, Ax."

Roxas laughed. "Let's just watch a movie," he then suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea," Axel agreed. "It's something calm and it allows me to relax."

"A movie sounds good to me," Riku confirmed.

"Okay. So what movie?" Naminé asked. "Axel?"

"Oh, my choice? Let's see then…" he trailed off, thinking. "Let's watch _Treasure Planet_," he decided with a childish smile.

The others all laughed at his choice.

"When was the last time we watched that?" Kairi wondered.

"I have no idea," Axel replied. "All the better reason to watch it, though."

"All right, _Treasure Planet_ it is," Roxas declared. He got up, found the movie and stuck it into the DVD player.

The others settled in front of the TV. Kairi and Naminé sat on each end of the couch. Riku and Sora sat between them, Riku next to Kairi, leaving Naminé next to Sora. Then Axel sat on the floor in front of the couch. Roxas joined him on the floor once the movie started to play. And throughout the entire movie, Axel had to restrain himself from wrapping his arm around Roxas's shoulders.


	5. Chapter Four: Personal

Axel didn't sleep much that night, despite how tired he was. He had managed to fall asleep, but ended up waking up in the middle of the night. And instead of attempting to fall back asleep, he just stayed up on his laptop, reading a short story his roommate had found and sent to him.

A little into the story, his door opened.

"Axel?" Roxas's voice whispered. "You awake?"

"Yeah," the redhead replied.

Roxas entered the room more. "Hi."

"What are you doing awake right now?"

"This is gonna sound really stupid, but I had a bad dream," he admitted. "And I couldn't fall back asleep," he added.

He sighed. "Come here."

"Really?"

"Yes really. C'mon."

The blonde closed the door quietly. Axel lifted the covers and Roxas crawled into his bed. He lay down on his side, facing Axel, and the redhead continued to read the story.

"What are you reading?" Roxas spoke up after a few moments of silence.

"Just something Demyx sent to me."

"Your roommate?"

"Yup."

"And what is it?"

Axel laughed. "It's a short story he found online, but it's about a forbidden romance between two guys."

"Why is he sending that to you?"

"He has a boyfriend, remember?"

"So why is he sending it to you and not his boyfriend."

"Well, I didn't realise he wasn't straight until I walked in on him and Zexion making out." He laughed some more. "It was actually really funny and more embarrassing for me than anyone else."

"He never dropped any hints about being gay before that moment?"

Now he shook his head. "Nope. It never caught on."

"And didn't you already say that he never tried hitting on you or anything?" he recalled.

"No, he never did. At least, I don't think he did. I mean, I can be really oblivious when it comes to things like flirting and whatnot. But based on the fact that he has a boyfriend, I'm think it's safe to say that he never did flirt."

"I still don't understand why—"

"Ever since the incident when I walked in on him and Zexion, he finds short stories and drawings like this and sends them to me. Demyx knows it doesn't bother me, but it's just a little thing we do."

"Well, it's good that you two are so open with one another."

"Yeah, he doesn't care what people think of him. And neither do I."

"Trust me, I know." He sighed. "I know you've mentioned Demyx's boyfriend before, but what's he like?"

"Zexion? Oh, he's quiet at first. But once he gets to know you he becomes more comfortable and grows just that much louder."

"Is your roommate like that?"

"Not at all. Demyx is loud from the very first day you meet him and on."

"That's good, since you're kinda in the middle."

"Yeah. Hey, maybe I should introduce them to Riku and Sora and they can double date." He laughed at the thought.

"Axel, are you straight?" Roxas abruptly asked him them.

"W-what?" he stuttered.

"What?" he replied, his eyes wide now. "I'm sorry, is that too personal?"

"Too personal? Please, nothing is ever 'too personal' when it comes to you and me. It's just that that question was…out of nowhere."

He shrugged. "Not really, though. I mean, we were talking about your roommate and his boyfriend, and then you mentioned Riku and Sora."

Axel sighed. "Well…I don't know. That's a sorta tough question to answer." He thought for a moment. "Possibly," he then answered. "I mean, I went out on dates with a good amount of girls this past year, but none of them ever felt right or had a second date."

He nodded. "I see… Has a guy ever asked you out?"

"Not yet, no."

"Not yet?"

"What? It could happen."

"Okay, so what if it does happen? What would you tell him?"

"I'd probably say yes. I mean, there's really only one way to find out if I am gay or not and that's through experience, right?"

"I guess. But shouldn't it be a guy you know?"

"Why? I wouldn't want to mess up a good friendship."

"That's true…"

"What about you, Rox?"

"What about me?"

"Are you straight?"

"Maybe," he admitted.

"Maybe?" he echoed, laughing a bit.

"Well, like you said before; it's a tough question. And unlike you, I've never even had a girlfriend. So maybe that means I'm not straight."

"That's not entirely true," he denied. "Didn't you date Naminé for a little while?"

"It wasn't legit," he explained. "It's almost like we just tested it out, but it ended up not feeling right to either of us."

"And there haven't been any other girls?"

"Nope. But there haven't been any guys, in that matter, either. So I wouldn't even have anything to compare it to."

"You don't always need a comparison, though. If you know then you know."

"Still…a comparison would be nice."

"Either way, it looks like we're in the same boat here." He laughed some more. "Maybe we should date each other and see how things go."

"Huh?" Roxas looked up at Axel, confused but still a little hopeful.

He was hopeful. Why?

"I'm kidding, Rox," he told him, still laughing.

"Right, right, of course. Because you even said that you wouldn't want to risk a good friendship."

"Yeah…" he trailed off, pausing. "Wait, were you actually considering—?"

"No! No, of course not," he lied. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Okay, okay." He looked at his phone for the time. "Damn, it's almost four o'clock in the morning already. You need to get to sleep."

"Okay," he said back. He moved to get up.

"Hey, I didn't say you had to leave," he stopped the blonde.

"You don't mind if I stay here?"

The redhead shrugged. "Might as well."

He smiled a small smile. "All right." He lay back down. "You should go to sleep, too, Ax."

"I will once I finish reading this," he promised, returning to the short story.

"Well, I'm not going to sleep until you do."

He let out another sigh. "Then I guess I'll be finishing up this story tomorrow." He closed his laptop and lay down completely. "Goodnight Roxas."

"Goodnight Axel."

And the two best friends just lay there, their backs to one another. But every time Roxas moved and his foot accidentally collided with Axel's, the blonde couldn't help but to blush at the touch.


	6. Chapter Five: That Single Breath

Roxas awoke the next morning to find Axel's arm resting around his waist. He shivered at the contact, only to have the redhead pull the blonde in that much closer to him. Now his back was touching Axel's chest. His bare chest. Roxas took a deep breath and slowly let it out to keep himself calm. Then Axel shifted, removing his arm from around Roxas. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Good morning," Axel then spoke up, his voice rough but sweet. The tone of it made Roxas shutter. "Are you cold?"

"N-no, I'm fine," he replied. "Good morning."

"Did you sleep well?"

"I slept fine. You?"

"Yeah." He sighed, sitting up. "It feels good to be back in my old room."

"Do you think the others realised that I stayed in here last night?" he then asked.

"Probably not."

"And if they did?"

"So what? By the way, what was your bad dream even about?"

Roxas turned the colour of the Axel's hair almost instantly. "You'll laugh and think it's stupid."

He smiled. "No I won't."

"Yes you will."

"Roxas, you can tell me."

"It's too embarrassing."

"Don't worry about it. Just tell me."

"No, I really don't want to."

"Please." His voice was soft now as he started to plead with the blonde.

And the blonde couldn't resist the softness of that voice. "Fine," he gave in, also sitting up at this point.

The redhead smiled again at his victory. "So what happened in this bad dream of yours?"

"You were gone," he answered after a moment of hesitation, his voice low. "Or you were leaving, but you weren't planning on ever coming back. You were going to be leaving forever. For good." His blue eyes avoided the green eyes of his friend as he told him about the nightmare. "Then as you drove off, you were hit by another car." He cringed at the thought. "You didn't survive the accident. You were gone."

"Roxas," his firm arms pulled him into a warm embrace, "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. I may go back to college at the end of summer, but I'll always come back here and return to you. And I'll stay alive."

Roxas pushed himself away from Axel and stumbled out of the bed. "It doesn't even matter. It was a stupid dream."

Axel stepped out of his bed now, too, and walked over to Roxas. "It wasn't stupid," he denied. The blonde wouldn't look at him, though. "Hey," he cupped Roxas's face in his hands, "look at me." Axel tilted Roxas's head up so he could look into those blue eyes. There was something different about them; there was more depth too them. It was almost as if they were revealing something to his green eyes that he had never been seen before. But they were beautiful eyes.

"Axel?" Roxas spoke up, his voice cracking.

"Yeah?"

"We're really close," he pointed out.

That was true. Axel hadn't noticed this, but he and Roxas were now barely an inch apart.

"Yeah," he repeated. He tilted Roxas's head a little more and started to lean in closer to him.

"Axel," he said his name again with the only breath he had left.

And then they were only a breath apart…

"Roxas! Axel!" a female voice shouted. The two sprung away from each other, coming back to their senses. Kairi then appeared in the doorway. "Oh good, you two are awake. We have breakfast ready for all of us." She disappeared again.

"Axel," Roxas said once more after a few moments of silence.

"Let's get downstairs," the redhead replied. And he left.

"But—" the blonde started. Axel was already gone, though. So he sighed. "But what just happened?" he asked himself. "Or what was about to happen?" He shook his head and made his way downstairs.

Roxas was quiet all throughout breakfast and he avoided eye contact with all the others, especially Axel. Instead, he just kept his eyes on his plate of food. He couldn't stop thinking about the moment between him and Axel. He had been right in front of Roxas, not even an inch away. He had been holding his face in his firm and comforting hands. His green eyes were intense as they gazed through his blue eyes and into his soul. And his lips were slightly parted and looked so soft to touch…

"Rox? Roxas!" Riku called his name.

"Huh?" he replied, snapping back to reality.

"Are you feeling okay?" Naminé checked.

"I'm fine," he lied.

"You just completely spaced out," Sora told him.

"Did I? Sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry," Kairi denied. "We were just saying."

Roxas only nodded in reply, still keeping his head down.

"Roxas," his body tensed up when Axel said his name, "is everything all right?"

"Everything's fine," he lied again.

"Can you look up at us, then?" he asked.

Though he hesitated, Roxas did lift his head and he locked his eyes with Axel's. And for a few moments, they just stared at each other intently, forgetting about the other four.

"Did something happen between you two before you came down here?" Riku wondered, speaking up.

"No," Axel also lied now. He took the last bite of his breakfast. "Hey Riku, could you give me a ride to my old workplace? I wanna talk to the boss about possibly getting my job back for the summer."

"Sure," he accepted. "We can go now."

They dropped their plates in the sink. Riku grabbed his keys and gave Sora a quick goodbye kiss on the cheek. They then walked out of the house and climbed into the blue car. Once they started down the road, Riku asked again, "Okay, what the hell happened?"

"What are you talking about?" Axel asked in reply.

"You know very well what I'm talking about."

"Not really, though."

"What the hell happened between you and Roxas?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing."

"Don't lie to me, Axel. Something obviously happened."

He sighed. "You really wanna know?"

"I wouldn't have asked otherwise."

"Okay, well…I guess I almost kissed Roxas."

Riku slammed on the breaks, causing both him and Axel to be tossed forward, despite their seatbelts being worn. The redhead threw his hands in front of his head to keep it from bouncing off the dashboard.

Once Riku pulled over and stopped the car, he turned on the redhead. "You what?" he exclaimed.

He only shook his head. "Don't make me say it again."

He then smiled. "That's great, though."

"What's so great about it?"

"The fact that I knew you liked Roxas."

"Nothing even happened, Riku!"

"But you did want to kiss him?"

"You see, that's the thing; I'm not sure if I actually wanted to kiss him or not."

"Oh…well…" He sighed, trailing off.

"I don't know what to do now," he then said.

"You need to talk to Roxas."

"About what?"

"About how he feels with the whole situation."

"How am I supposed to talk to Roxas about how he feels when I don't even know how I feel?"

He shrugged. "Maybe it'll come to you when you talk to him."

"I don't think it works that way, Riku."

"You never know until you try."

"Riku, I—" He sighed, cutting himself off. "I don't think it's that simple."

"All right, fine," he gave in. He started the car back up. "Let's just drop it, then. This conversation never happened."

And with that said, they were back on the road.


	7. Chapter Six: Confusion

"Can I talk to you guys about something?" Roxas asked the others. They were all helping clean up after Axel and Riku left. "It's kind of important."

"Is it about Axel?" Kairi guessed.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Okay, what happened?" Naminé wondered.

He sighed. "I don't even know…"

Sora laughed a little. "Just tell us, Rox."

"Well, I think Axel almost kissed me."

"You think he did or he did?" Naminé replied.

He paused, swallowing hard. "He did."

Kairi dropped the dish she was cleaning, causing the others to jump. "I'm sorry. I just wasn't expecting to hear that."

"Well, I'm not surprised that it happened," Sora admitted.

"Nothing actually happened, though."

"Did you want it to happen?" Naminé asked.

Roxas shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe…" He sighed, falling into a chair at the table. "Is that wrong?"

"Excuse me?" Sora raised an eyebrow at his cousin.

"No, I didn't mean it like that, Sora."

"I know. I'm just messing with you."

"Stop it, Sora," Naminé said. She sat down across from Roxas. "What really happened?"

"Well, I kinda stayed with Axel last night."

"What do you mean?" Kairi wondered.

"This is gonna sound really stupid, but I had a bad dream and I couldn't fall back asleep, so I went to Axel's room."

"And you stayed with him for the rest of the night?" Sora clarified.

"Yeah."

"When did he almost kiss you?" Naminé questioned.

"This morning," he answered. "I was telling him what my dream was about, and then I guess you could say that he was kinda comforting me. Then it's like he just got pretty close and he was suddenly only and inch or so away."

"What stopped the kiss from actually happening?" Kairi asked.

"You called our names."

"Oh…sorry," she replied unsurely.

"Don't be sorry. I mean, maybe it's for the best."

"Why do you say that?" Sora wondered.

"If it was supposed to happen then Kairi wouldn't have come and interrupted us at that time."

"That's not true," Naminé denied. "You and Axel should be together."

"You really think so?"

"We all do," Kairi confirmed. "We've discussed it multiple times."

"You've all discussed it?"

"We have," Sora confirmed. "That's why I really am surprised that it hasn't happened yet."

"Well, I don't think Axel feels the same way. I'm not even sure if I actually feel that way about him."

Kairi shrugged. "Talk to him, then."

"I can't."

"Avoiding him isn't going to help, though," Naminé said.

He sighed. "But I don't know what to say to him."

"Say what you feel," Sora suggested.

"But I don't know how I feel!"

"Roxas, remember when Riku and I first got together?"

"A little."

"Well, I went to ask him out, but I wasn't even sure if he felt the same way about me or not. And as I was mustering up the words—and courage—to ask him, Riku ended up beating me to the punch."

He smiled a little. "That must've been a pleasant surprise."

"It was. So you should just walk up to Axel and ask him."

"Okay, so say I do that." He paused. "What happens if he says no?"

"Don't be so negative, Roxas," Kairi said.

"I'm not being negative. Just…what if he says no?" he asked again. "Then our friendship will probably be ruined."

"That's not true," Naminé denied again.

"But it probably is! I mean, things would become so awkward between us afterwards."

"You'd be able to get over it," Kairi figured. "Both of you would be. And if you can't then you're not true best friends."

He sighed once again. "I'm not so sure about that."

"Well, there's only one way to find out how Axel really feels," Sora pointed out. "So you have to talk to him."

"I guess I do." Roxas let out yet another sigh. "I guess I'm just a little nervous about how it'll go."

"Because you do like him, right?" Kairi said hopefully.

"I don't know!"

"Okay, okay, calm down," Naminé replied.

"Ugh, I'm sorry. I'm just really confused about all of this."

"And that's understandable," Sora assured him. "But you still need to talk to him."

"I will. But can it wait a day or two?"

"That's probably best, actually," Kairi agreed.

"Yeah, it gives both of you time to think about it," Naminé stated.

"Exactly. And though I don't know Axel's place in this situation, I do know that I definitely need more time to think."


	8. Chapter Seven: The Fake Truth

Axel woke to the bustle of everyone else in the house the very next morning. He rolled out of bed and headed downstairs to see what all the commotion was about. Riku, Sora, Kairi and Naminé were all up and ready for the day…and it was only nine o'clock in the morning.

"What's going on?" Axel asked sleepily.

"We're getting ready to run the errands of the day," Naminé answered.

"It's not even ten in the morning yet."

"You're right, it's only nine in the morning," Sora replied.

"Some of us work early, Ax," Riku pointed out in addition.

"You work at all?" he shot back.

"Shut up."

He laughed. "What about you three?"

"Riku got me a job where he works," Sora informed him.

"I'm making a food run," Naminé continued.

"And I'm making a miscellaneous run," Kairi finished. "So is there anything you may need?"

"I could use a notebook or two, actually," Axel thought up.

"Any preferences?"

"Three subject, college ruled. Any colour or design is fine."

"Very well, then."

"What about Roxas? Where's he at?"

"He's still sleeping," Riku answered.

"Why doesn't he have anything to do?"

"Because he wants to go to college next year, so we're giving him a break and letting him figure out what it is he wants to major in," Naminé said.

"Well, I already knew Sora wasn't attending college next year, but you and Kairi aren't going either?"

Kairi shook her head. "We want to take a year off like Riku did."

"That doesn't sound like you two."

She smiled. "Exactly."

He chuckled. "Very well, then. And Roxas doesn't know his major?"

Sora shrugged. "Guess not."

"What about his photography?"

"That's what we keep trying to tell him," Naminé replied. "But he doesn't think his pictures are good enough."

Axel chuckled. "Now he sounds like me."

"Yeah, I think we said something like that, too," Sora recalled.

"Either way, we have to get going," Riku declared. "See you guys later." He and Sora left.

"We should also be on our way," Kairi stated. "We should be back in about two hours." She also left.

"And Axel," Naminé then started.

"Yeah?"

"Talk to Roxas," she concluded simply. She followed after Kairi.

The redhead sighed. Then he wondered if Roxas had told Kairi, Naminé and Sora about the incident just like he had told Riku about it. Then he actually made his way up to the blonde's bedroom. He knocked on the door two times. When there was no answer, he just let himself in. Roxas was still sleeping. Axel closed the door silently and watched his sleeping friend. He looked so peaceful…

He sat on the end of the bed, making it sink a little and thus causing Roxas to sort of roll into him a bit. The movement also caused him to wake up. He lifted his eyelids to reveal those brilliant blue eyes. "Axel?"

"Good morning," he replied.

He blinked a few times, ridding himself of his grogginess. "Good morning," he finally returned the greeting.

"I know it's still early, but can we talk about yesterday morning while only you and I are home?"

"What about yesterday morning?"

"You know what."

He sighed and sat up. "Okay, we can talk."

"Thank you."

There was silence.

"So…what's up?" the blonde spoke up.

"What actually did happen yesterday? Or what was going to happen?"

Now he shrugged. "I was sorta hoping you could tell me."

The redhead sighed this time. "Okay, I think we both know what happened. Or what almost happened, technically."

"Yeah…" he trailed off. "Now what?"

"Now we need to figure out how we really feel and if we really wanted it to happen."

"Do we need to talk to each other about this?"

"Kinda, yeah."

"Fine."

"Let's try to tell each other the truth, too."

"The truth?" he repeated. "Can we answer at the same time?"

"If you want to."

He nodded. "I do."

"Okay. Then on the count of three say 'yes' or 'no' for if you did or didn't want it to happen."

He nodded again. "All right."

"All right." He paused. "One," he then began.

"Two."

"Three," they completed the countdown together. Then there was a slight hesitation before they both replied with, "No."

Uneasy yet relieved laughter filled the room.

"Well, I'm glad we're on the same page," Axel said.

"Me too," Roxas agreed.

He nodded. "So we should both probably get ready for the day now, too," he figured. He laughed a little more as he got to his feet. "This is so weightlifting." He turned away from the blonde, his face twisting into that of uncertainty as he walked out of the bedroom.

"Yeah, it really is," he called after the redhead. When he heard Axel's bedroom door close, he fell back into his own bed. "Shit," he muttered under his breath. "How am I gonna solve this?" he asked himself. He sighed again. "Things are only gonna get difficult from here on out." He paused, thinking. "The truth?" he repeated again. "Yeah, sorry Axel, but that's not really what just came out." He sighed once more. "It's just that I can't say the truth when I don't know exactly what it is."


	9. Chapter Eight: Pictures

The next evening, Axel came home from just a simple day around the town. He missed being able to walk around Twilight Town, so that's what he did. And when he got home and entered the living room, he saw Riku, Sora, Kairi and Naminé all sitting on the couch and watching TV. Roxas was not present, though.

"Hey guys," Axel greeted them.

"Hey," Naminé replied with a smile.

"How's Twilight Town?" Riku asked.

"The same."

"Yeah, well, we could've told you that," Sora said.

Axel laughed. "Where's Roxas?"

"Up in his room," Kairi told him. "He's gathering all his camera stuff."

"Yeah, he's getting ready to go out and take some pictures," Naminé added.

"Oh, okay." Axel turned to leave.

"Did you two talk?" Riku called after him.

"What?"

"Did you and Roxas work things out?"

"Yeah."

"And…?" they all asked eagerly.

"And it was nothing. Roxas and I are best friends and nothing more than that."

"Bullshit," Riku mumbled.

Axel sighed. "I'm sorry to disappoint you all," he replied and walked away. He made his way up to Roxas's room. "Hey there," he greeted him, leaning against his doorframe.

Roxas smiled at his presence. "Hey Ax."

"So you're going out to take some pictures?"

"I am indeed. I was gonna go up to the clock tower, actually. Do you wanna come with me? Or are you all walked out?"

He chuckled. "Nah, I can go with you."

"Awesome. Let's head out, then." They left his room and headed downstairs. "Hey guys, I'm leaving now and Axel's tagging along."

"Okay," Kairi replied.

"Have fun you two," Naminé said.

They exited the house and made their way to the clock tower.

"So are you happy to be graduating?" Axel broke the silence that had fallen upon them.

"Hell yeah," Roxas answered.

He laughed. "That's how I felt when I graduated. And you do plan on attending college?"

"If I can find something to major in."

"Major in photography."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Roxas, my college has that major. You could go there with me. And you take great pictures."

"You really think so?"

"Of course I do."

He smiled. "Thanks Axel."

"No problem, Rox."

The rest of the walk was silent until they arrived at the station clock tower.

"I haven't been here in such a long time," Axel thought aloud, smiling at the sight in front of him.

"You didn't stop by here today?"

"No, I didn't, actually."

"Oh. Well, here you are now."

"Here I am."

The two friends then made their way to the top of the clock tower. Axel gazed out over the town he had explored all over again that day. But now the sun was beginning to set. Roxas snapped a few pictures before taking a seat. Axel sat down beside his friend. Then they just sat there in silence. After a little while, Roxas took a few more pictures.

"You think I should attend your college and major in photography?" the blonde spoke up.

"Definitely," the redhead confirmed.

"You wouldn't mind if I went to the same college as you?"

"Why would I mind?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Because it's your college."

"It's not my college, Roxas. And I really wouldn't mind. Besides, it would give us more time to hang out. And we wouldn't have to live away from each other for the school year."

"That would be nice," he admitted.

"Exactly."

"But you don't think we would get sick of each other?"

"If we haven't yet, then we never will."

"Good point."

Another silence fell upon them. Then there was a flash in Axel's direction. He blinked a few times, a little dazed, and then looked over at Roxas.

"Did you just take a picture of me?"

He smiled. "Maybe."

"You better delete that."

"Why?"

"Because I said so!"

"That's not a good enough reason."

"Fine. If it's a bad picture, though, then you will delete it."

"It won't be a bad picture."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because you can't take a bad picture, Axel," he stated, looking away from his friend and holding back a blush.

"What was that, Rox?"

"It was nothing. I was just saying."

He laughed again. "You don't have to lie to me."

"But…I wasn't lying."

Axel looked at Roxas, who was still looking down. "Hey Rox, is there something you need to tell me? Or something you would like to tell me?"

He shook his head. "We already talked."

"I'm well aware of that, but did anything go left unsaid?"

"No. There was nothing much to say to begin with."

"I guess that's true."

"C'mon, we should head back now," Roxas changed the subject, getting back to his feet.

"All right," Axel agreed, also returning to his feet. "But one more thing," he said, stopping Roxas. He pulled him back, his arm wrapping around his shoulders and taking his camera out of his hands. "Smile!" He snapped a picture of the two of them.

Roxas pushed himself away from Axel. "You're an ass." He was holding back another blush.

Axel laughed some more. "What? You took a picture of me and so I took a picture of the both of us."

"Let's just get back to the house so I can put these pictures on my laptop," he replied, and he took his camera back from the redhead.


	10. Chapter Nine: Acting Playful

Axel and Roxas returned to the ground and started back for the house. The blonde snapped a few more random pictures along the way. Here and there, Axel would jump in front of the camera and into the picture at the last moment. Then they would just laugh about it.

When they arrived back home, Kairi and Naminé came out from the kitchen to greet them.

"Good timing," Naminé said.

"We just finished making dinner," Kairi told them.

"We'll eat after I put these pictures on my laptop," Roxas replied.

"The pictures can wait," Naminé denied.

"You eat first," Kairi declared.

With that said, the six gathered around the dining room table. They all got the portions of what they wanted and began to eat. And Axel and Roxas were eating as quickly as they could.

"Slow down," Sora said.

"You guys are gonna choke," Riku added, laughing a little.

They slowed down a bit, but still ate rapidly. When they were finished, they jumped up and threw their dishes into the sink. Then they rushed up to Roxas's room without another word to the others. Roxas removed the memory card from his camera and put it in his laptop. He downloaded the pictures.

"See Rox?" Axel said as they scrolled through the pictures. "You take amazing pictures."

He smiled again. "Thanks Ax. That means a lot to me."

He returned the smile. "No problem, Rox."

The next picture was of him.

"I didn't see you take that picture of me."

"That's because it was taken from behind and you don't have eyes in the back of your head.

He laughed. "Shut up."

He laughed as well. "I'm sorry, it's just that the lighting was really good."

The next one was of him again.

"And this one?"

"Your silhouette looked really cool."

"Yeah, I guess it does," he agreed.

The next picture was the one of him that Axel knew he had taken.

"That picture looks horrible."

"It does not! You're just saying that.

"It's true!"

"But you look so deep in thought."

"No, I look…not good."

He laughed some more. "I'm keeping the picture."

"No you're not," he denied.

"Yes I am."

"No, Roxas." He leaned over his friend in attempt to delete the picture himself.

"Yes, Axel," he replied, lifting his laptop and moving it away from the redhead.

Axel continued to reach over the blonde, trying to take his laptop from him. But Roxas continued to move away from the redhead, laughing more and more.

"Axel, you're gonna make me drop it!" he exclaimed.

"Then let me have it!"

"Never!"

The blonde then managed to toss his laptop onto his bed before he tumbled out of his desk chair and onto the floor. Axel partially fell on top of him right after. They were still laughing, though. Axel turned so he was lying on his back next to Roxas as they continued to just lay there, laughing.

"Sorry about that," Axel said once they both calmed down.

"It's okay," Roxas replied. "But I'm still not deleting the picture."

"Fine, you win."

"Of course I do." He got up and retrieved his laptop. He lay back down next to Axel. They lay there as they continued to scroll through the rest of the pictures. But they stopped on the one Axel had taken of the two of them. Roxas smiled at it. "I really like this one."

Axel smiled back. "Me too."

Roxas right clicked on the picture and set it as his desktop background. "There. That's the perfect place for it."

Now he chuckled. "Make sure you print that picture out for me so I can bring it to college next year."

He nodded. "I'll be sure to do that." He closed his laptop and set it aside. "Maybe I will go to school for photography," he decided.

"It is what you do best."

"Just like you and your creative writing."

"Yeah."

"By the way…do you have anything new that I could possibly read?" he wondered.

He shrugged. "I might. I'm honestly not sure, though. I'll look through my stuff tomorrow night."

"Okay." He sighed lightly. "Hey Axel." He turned his head.

"Yeah Roxas?" He turned his head as well.

And then their eyes met and locked onto each other. Forest green eyes were drowned by ocean blue eyes as they gazed into each other. Roxas completely forgot what he was going to say and Axel felt as if time had stopped. Right then, in that moment, it was only the two of them. And neither of them ever wanted the moment to end.

But nothing can last forever.

There was a knock on Roxas's bedroom door. Then Sora entered without even bothering to receive an answer. He looked down at his cousin and the redhead in slight confusion. "What are you two—?" he started to ask, but stopped himself, shaking his head. "Never mind. I don't even wanna know." He cleared his throat. "The rest of us are getting ready to watch a movie. Would you two like to join us?"

"What movie?" Axel questioned in reply, sitting up.

"Does it matter?"

Roxas laughed. "No, it doesn't. We'll be right there, Sora."

"Okay." He left, closing the door behind him.

Axel lay back down next to Roxas who never even bothered to sit up. The two of them continued to just stare at the ceiling. What was going on between them all of a sudden? That was the only question they both had and wanted an answer to.

But they would only be able to get an answer if they stopped lying to themselves first.


	11. Chapter Ten: Déjà Vu

The next couple of days quickly passed by. And before any of them knew it, Axel would be returning to college to take his last final exam before the official end of his first year at college. But because of unfortunate timing, Axel would still miss out on attending Roxas, Kairi, Naminé, and Sora's high school graduation.

But two nights before Axel had to return—and when he was actually sleeping for once—Roxas came to his room and gently shook him awake.

"Axel," he whispered.

"What is it?" he asked out of annoyance. "Another nightmare?"

"No."

He propped himself up on his elbows. "Then why the hell are you waking me up in the middle of the night?"

"I want to take you somewhere."

"Right now?"

He shrugged. "It kinda has to be right now."

He groaned. "Fine."

Roxas smiled. "Good. Get up."

Axel unwillingly crawled out of his warm bed. He didn't bother changing into some decent clothes, but Roxas hadn't changed either. The high school graduate did have his camera with him, though.

"Where are we going?" Axel asked once they made a quiet escape out of the house.

"To Sunset Terrace."

"Sunset Terrace? How the hell are we supposed to get there without the train to take us there?"

"Through the tunnels."

Axel's face lit up with recollection. "Oh yeah! Damn, how did I forget about the tunnels?"

"You have been gone for practically a year now," Roxas pointed out. "And that actually brings me to the question; why did you go to college so far away from here?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I just really liked the sound of their creative writing course."

"But it's just so far away. It's too far away."

"Roxas, it's not like I'm on the other side of the world."

"Axel, it's a day's ride from here."

He sighed again. "Where in Sunset Terrace are we going?" he then changed the subject.

"Just to Sunset Hill," he answered, going along with the topic change.

The rest of the walk was silent, except for Roxas snapping a few pictures every once in a while. Some of them were of Axel, as well. And though the redhead didn't particularly like his picture being taken, he let the blonde have his fun with the camera. Then they reached the top of Sunset Hill.

"Wow," Axel breathed.

"Yeah…beautiful, isn't it?" Roxas replied.

He snapped a few pictures before sitting down. Soon after, Axel took a seat beside him. And before long, the two friends were laying on the grassy ground, gazing up the stars together. Every so often their arms shot up, pointing out particular stars and constellations. It was a peaceful night and they were enjoying each other's company.

But Axel had a peculiar feeling that he had experienced this scene before.

"Hey Axel," the blonde spoke up.

"Yeah Roxas?" the redhead replied.

"How have we not ended up together…like this?"

"What do you mean?"

Roxas propped himself up on his elbows. "It's just that…we've known each other practically all our lives. So how have we never happened before?"

Axel's face scrunched up in confusion. "I'm not sure I'm following."

Roxas sighed. Then he rolled and he was over Axel. He had one hand on each side of his head and one knee on each side of his hips.

"R-Roxas!" he stuttered. "What are you doing?"

"Something we should've done a long time ago."

Then it hit Axel; his dream! But it was too late now. The blonde was already leaning forward. And then he was kissing the redhead. But unlike in the dream, Axel was truly caught by surprise. And this caused him to forcefully push Roxas off of him.

"Roxas! Wh-what the hell?"

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" he echoed. "You just kissed me!"

"But I thought—"

"You thought wrong!"

And that was all it took to make the blonde jump to his feet and storm away.

Axel swiftly got to his feet and chased after Roxas. "No, Rox, wait!" he called after him. "Roxas, hold on!" He managed to jump in front of him. "Hey, listen, I didn't meant it like that. I'm just a little confused."

"About what?"

"About the fact that you told me that you didn't want to kiss me, but then you just kissed me!"

"Well I lied, okay?"

"No, that's not okay. Why would you lie to me?"

"Because of this! Because you obviously don't feel the same way!" He started to walk away again.

He stopped him again. "That's not entirely true," he denied. "You just surprised me, Roxas; you caught me off guard."

"You usually like spontaneity."

"Not when it comes to stuff like this." He sighed. "Just…give me some time to think."

"You've had your thinking time, Axel. We both have."

"What?"

"Back when you first almost kissed me. Our thinking time began then."

"No, that's not fair! The next day you told me that you hadn't wanted the kiss to happen!"

"I hesitated when I said that. And so did you!" Once again, he tried to storm off.

Once again, Axel stopped him. "Please, let me figure things out."

"There's nothing to figure out! You don't feel the same way about me and that's that," he declared. "Oh well! Too bad, so sad." Sarcasm was ringing in his voice.

He sighed once more. "Roxas—"

"You know, it's a damn good thing you can't make it to graduation. I don't want you there anyway. And maybe you should just stay with your roommate this summer."

This time, Axel allowed Roxas to walk away from him. Once the blonde was gone, he fell back to the ground, practically out of breath.

Did that actually just happen?

"Shit!" the redhead yelled, falling onto his back, his arms and legs spread out. "I totally screwed this up."

And that was something he was right about, for he truly did feel the same way about Roxas. So why did the redhead push the blonde away? He hadn't been thinking straight, that's why. And though that whole moment was practically like déjà vu, Axel just hadn't been expecting to be kissed by his best friend.


	12. Chapter Eleven: Arguing

Axel returned home sullenly. He hadn't seen Roxas during the walk back, so he figured he was already home and in bed. He couldn't sleep for the rest of the night, though. Instead, he stayed on the couch, restless. He replayed that night's scene and his reoccurring dream in his head. Some things were the same, but it obviously ended differently. Axel sighed. That's not what he wanted to happen; not how he wanted it to go. And then at the crack of dawn, he heard the front door open and close. He hurried to the doorway of the living room to see who was coming in.

"Roxas? Were you out all night?" he realised.

"Why do you care?" he asked in reply.

"Don't give me that shit, Roxas. Of course I care."

"You didn't care enough to come after me."

"I didn't think you wanted me to! I mean, I had stopped you two or three times before and you just kept trying to walk away."

"That doesn't mean anything."

"Why are you being so difficult?"

"Because you were a jackass last night, Axel!"

"Roxas, you're being a bit unfair about this right now. Last night I was caught completely off guard."

"So what if I had warned you?"

"Huh?"

"What if I had told you that I was going to kiss you?" he wondered. "Would last night have played out any differently?"

"Oh, I don't know." He sighed. "Maybe." He thought for a moment. "I'm just sorta really confused right now."

"About what?"

"About everything, Roxas!" He heaved out a long breath, calming himself down. "I honestly don't know what I want or how I feel," he then admitted.

"Well, you obviously don't want me because you don't feel the same way about me."

"No, Roxas, stop telling yourself that."

He shook his head. "I'm going to my room. Do not follow and do not disturb."

And for the second time, Axel watched Roxas walk away from him heatedly. He sighed and made his way back to the couch, falling onto it with yet another sigh. Soon after, Riku joined him.

"What's Roxas so upset about?" he asked.

"How do you know he's upset?"

"The fact that he slammed his door is the only reason I'm awake."

"Ah. Well, he's upset because of the fact that I screwed everything up," he finally answered.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Roxas and I snuck out last night," he told him. "We went to Sunset Terrace."

"And…?"

"And while we were laying there on Sunset Hill," he paused, "Roxas made a move." He sighed once again. "He kissed me and I just sorta freaked out."

"What? Why?"

"Because I wasn't expecting it! I just—I didn't realise Roxas actually felt that way about me because he had told me otherwise."

"Lying isn't all that difficult, Ax," he pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm aware. But my reaction really hurt Roxas and now he might as well hate me."

"He doesn't hate you," he denied. "No matter what you do, he could never hate you or stay made at you."

"Well, he's really upset."

"Yeah, I realised that already. So why don't you talk to him?"

"You don't think I've tried? He doesn't want to talk to me! He won't listen to me; he won't even look at me!"

"Calm down, Axel."

Once again, he sighed. "I really screwed up this time, Riku."

"You'll figure it out."

"Roxas said that he doesn't want me at graduation."

"You have your exam then, so you can't make it anyway."

"I know, but the fact that he still said that to me. It's the fact that if I could make it, he still wouldn't want me there. He said that he doesn't even want me to come home this summer."

"He said that, too?"

He nodded. "He did."

"Well, what are you gonna do?"

"What can I do?"

"You can go to graduation instead."

"No I can't, Riku! I can't miss my final exam, especially since it's my writing exam."

Now he sighed. "Okay." He stood up.

"Okay?" he repeated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything."

"Please, Riku. Don't make anything more confusing for me."

"You really don't know how you feel about Roxas?"

"No, I do know. I know that I do want to be with him. It's just the fact that I realised that after I freaked out and he was walking away from me."

"Then why don't you tell him that?"

"He won't believe me now!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"Why do you think that?"

"Because he'll think that I'm only just saying that to make him feel better or some bullshit! He won't think I actually mean it, though."

"Fine. Think what you want."

"What? You think he'd believe me?"

"Yes, I do! But since you're not even gonna bother trying to talk to him again, then whatever." He shrugged and walked away.

Axel fell back onto the couch. "Shit!" he yelled again. "What the hell is wrong with me? Why do I keep getting everyone mad at me?" He sighed. "Guess I deserve it," he figured in reply to his own question. "Damn…now what am I supposed to do?"


	13. Chapter Twelve: Going Back

It was finally time for Axel to return to college. Riku brought him to the train station after he said a quick goodbye to Kairi, Naminé and Sora. But before Axel climbed aboard the train, he kept looking towards the stations doors.

"I don't think he's coming," Riku spoke up, knowing exactly who the redhead was waiting for and hoping to see. "I'm sorry."

Axel sighed. He hadn't gotten the chance to see Roxas before he left. The blonde had locked himself in his room.

"I honestly just can't believe that he's this angry," he admitted.

"He's probably working on his valedictorian speech."

"His what?"

"His valedictorian speech."

"Roxas didn't tell me—" He sighed, cutting himself off.

"Maybe he wanted to surprise you. Then again, you can't be all that surprised. I mean, you are his best friend and you were also valedictorian."

"Yes, thank you, I'm well aware of that." He sighed again. "I'll see you in a few days. Be sure to tell the others congratulations for me." He stepped onto the train.

"Bye Ax," he replied.

The train ride back to college felt even longer that the train ride home. As did the bus ride. And that wasn't even a long ride to begin with. Then he was finally back at his dorm, he entered his room to find his roommate there with his boyfriend.

"Hey Demyx. Hey Zexion," he greeted them both.

"Hey Axel," Demyx replied. "You ready for the exam tomorrow?"

"Not at all," he admitted. "I have so much other shit on my mind right now." He collapsed onto his bed.

"What happened?" Zexion wondered.

"I screwed up big time," he said to the ceiling.

"Oh?" Demyx said back.

Axel sat up. "You know my friend Roxas, right?"

"Obviously. He's the one you're always talking about," Demyx stated.

He tried to keep his face from going as red as his hair. "Yeah, him."

"What about him?" Zexion questioned.

"Well, while I was home we had a few…moments. And one of them includes a moment when he kissed me."

"Is that a bad thing?" Zexion thought aloud.

"No. What's bad is that I freaked when he did and now he's pissed at me."

Demyx smirked. "I knew he was more than just your best friend."

"That's not the point, Dem! The point is that I screwed up. And graduation is tomorrow and—"

"Why aren't you going?" Demyx cut him off.

"Are you seriously asking me that? We have an exam tomorrow!"

"Screw the exam," Demyx declared. He got up and grabbed his boyfriend's keys. "Let's go. We can drive you back."

"It's a day's drive."

"And if we leave now we'll be able to make it," Zexion pointed out.

"But the exam—"

"What's more important to you, Axel?" Demyx questioned.

Axel thought about it, but for barely a moment. He nodded. "Let's go."

With that said, the redhead was quickly back in a moving vehicle. Demyx was driving Zexion's car, Axel was in the passenger's seat, and Zexion was in the back. They were driving as fast as they could. Graduation was at noon the next day and they had to make it there before Roxas's valedictorian speech.

They would make it.


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Interruption

About halfway through the drive home, Axel pulled out his cell phone.

"Who are you calling?" Demyx wondered.

"My friend Riku," he informed them both. "Someone needs to know I'm coming back." He put his phone to his ear. It rang. "C'mon, pick up…" he groaned. He knew it was late, but he had to pick up. And Riku was a light sleeper, so he might get his ass kicked later for waking him, but at this moment the redhead only cared about him picking up.

"Axel?" he finally answered.

"Riku!"

"What the hell, Ax? It's the middle of the night."

"I'm coming home."

"What?" he exclaimed, suddenly wide awake.

"I'm gonna be at graduation tomorrow. But don't tell any of the others."

"Right, I won't."

"Thanks, buddy." He hung up.

"Everything all set?" Demyx checked.

"For now."

"What are you gonna do?" Zexion wondered. "I mean, what are you gonna tell Roxas?"

"Yeah, I have no idea," he admitted.

"Shouldn't you figure that out?" Demyx thought aloud.

"Probably."

Zexion chuckled. "Good luck with that."

"You're gonna need it," Demyx added.

The rest of the drive was a quiet one. By the time they arrived back at Twilight Town, it was a quarter to noon.

"Are we on time?" Zexion checked.

"The ceremony starts at noon, so…yeah," Axel answered, checking the time.

The three climbed out of the car. Riku rushed out the front door.

"Perfect timing," he said.

"Hey," Axel replied. "This is my roommate Demyx and his boyfriend Zexion," he introduced them. "And this is Riku."

"It's nice to meet you," Zexion said.

"Likewise," Riku returned. "But we really need to get going now. Are you two coming?"

"Can we?" Demyx wondered.

He shrugged. "I don't see why not."

"Awesome because we really wanna know what Axel's gonna do," Zexion admitted.

"Do you even know?" Riku questioned the redhead.

"Nope, not a clue," Axel denied.

"Axel!"

"Relax Riku. It'll all come to me. You know I'm good at improvising."

The four of them then headed to the Twilight Town high school at a fast pace. When they arrived, there was already a large amount of other people present. They moved more towards the back and managed to find two rows—one right behind the other—with two empty seats on the ends. And so Axel and Riku sat in the first two and Demyx and Zexion sat right behind them.

"Five minutes," Riku mumbled after checking the time on his phone once they were all seated. "You ready for this, Ax?"

"Not at all," he said flatly.

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out," Demyx reassured him. "You obviously really care about Roxas."

"Yeah, could you try telling him that for me?" He sighed.

"Axel, everything will work out," Zexion replied confidently.

"I hope all of you are right," he muttered back. "I really hope you are."

The graduation then began. First the principle and the vice principle said a few words to the students and parents in attendance. They talked about the ups and downs of the school year. They talked about their hopes for the new years to come and wished the seniors luck outside of high school and in the real world. Then the principle took the stage again and announced the valedictorian.

Roxas stepped up to the podium at centre stage. Axel sat up in his seat at this point.

"Do you remember standing up there?" Riku whispered.

"How could I forget?" he asked in reply. "Plus, it was only a year ago."

"Good afternoon everyone and thank you all for attending," Roxas began his speech. "Today is an important day; it's the day we graduate. And I congratulate each and every one of you who reached this point." He chuckled a little bit. "I remember my very first day of high school. Well, I'm sure we all do. We felt small and insignificant to the rest of the student body. And I guess we kinda were. But then we met that one upperclassmen; a sophomore. He helped us—he helped you. He risked being late to his classes to show you to your classes. He told you about the teachers and even about other students. And then you weren't so afraid anymore; you weren't insignificant. And that helped with making the rest of high school easier for you. And then we come to this day. Today marks the first day of the rest of our lives. Because starting today, we're independent. High school was the just beginning. And on that first day we all thought that it was gonna take forever to get through these four years, but our time here ended up flying by—"

Axel suddenly stood up.

"What do you think you're doing?" Riku asked.

"I have no idea." He went to leave.

He grabbed him by the wrist. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Up there."

"No Axel, you can't."

"I have to," he replied. "Trust me, Riku." He pulled his arm away and headed for the stage.

"—Now our adventure will truly begin after we cross this stage, shake their hands, and hold that diploma high, along with our heads," Roxas continued with his speech. "But we couldn't have gotten here alone. And you can all deny it all you want, but we all need help, no matter what. We needed help to get through high school and we're gonna need help outside of high school, too." His eyes then landed on spiky red hair making its way towards the stage. He turned his attention away from Axel. "Actually, we'll need more help outside of high school because that's when we start to figure out what it is we want to do with our lives." He noticed the redhead growing closer. "And when we figure out our lives, we should do that with the people who care about us and the people who love us. Because whatever we decide to do, they'll always support us. They'll also be honest with us, though, if they think our plan will fail. And that's a reality check we all need at some point in our lives. A lot of the time we need it more than once." The redhead was a lot closer now. "Either way, high school is just our beginning. Then graduating is the climax. And the end is what we make of it—" The redhead suddenly jumped onto the stage at this moment. "Axel, what the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked, taking a few steps away from him.

"What we should've done a long time ago," he answered.

"Can't this wait?"

He shook his head. "No, it can't."

Axel took Roxas's face in his hands and he kissed the blonde hard.

"Wait," Roxas said after breaking away, "I didn't think you wanted—"

"You thought wrong," he cut him off.

Roxas smiled at this and Axel kissed him again. This time, he kissed him back.

"They're all cheering for us," Roxas pointed out when they broke apart again.

"Who?" Axel asked in reply. "Right now there's only you and me."

This comment caused the blonde to blush deeply and the redhead chuckled softly.

"All right, that's enough you two," the principle interrupted. "This was very sweet of you Axel, but Roxas needs to finish his speech now so we can get on with the rest of the graduation."

"Sorry," he stuffed his hands in his pockets, smiling slyly, "I guess I just can't stay away."

"Yes, well, you had your time in the spotlight last year."

"That I did." He looked back at Roxas. "The stage is all yours, buddy." He winked at him and jumped off to make his way back to his seat.

But first, he scouted out Kairi, Naminé and Sora in the sea of graduates. When he did find them, he pointed their way. Kairi and Naminé smiled in return and Sora gave him a thumb's up, but he was also smirking. Axel laughed at this, and then he was back in his seat.

"Way to go," Demyx congratulated him.

"That's one way to do that," Zexion replied.

"How'd that feel?" Riku asked him.

Axel smiled. "Perfect."

They all turned their attention back to Roxas on the stage, who was starting back up with his speech.

"Okay. So where was I before I was so rudely interrupted?" he thought aloud, though he chuckled and was still blushing a bit. "Right," he then remembered. "High school is just our beginning. Then graduating is the climax. And the end is what we make of it. So make your end great; make it worthwhile. Because the end is what defines you. But also make sure you remember what got you there. Remember high school and remember that single upperclassmen. And most importantly, remember that everyone sitting here today deserves to walk across this stage. We have all worked hard to get here and to be here. And now that we are here, don't give up. We have proved to ourselves and to everyone else that we can go all the way; we can go the distance. So as you walk across this stage today and as you are granted your independence, think about your life: past, present, and future. And remember everything. Remember high school, the beginning of your story. Remember graduating, the climax of your story. And though you have yet to reach this point, still remember how you'll end your story. Because endings are just as important as beginnings. So be sure to make the most of it with the people you love." He smiled. "I know I will."


	15. Chapter 14: The Beginning of Summer

"Hey, when are Axel and Demyx supposed to be back?" Kairi asked Roxas and Zexion a few days later.

Axel and Demyx had returned to college not only to get their things, but also in high hopes of being able to make up the final exam they had missed. It had also been decided that Demyx and Zexion were going to stay with them in Twilight Town for the summer.

"They should be getting back at some point today," Roxas answered.

"It is today?" Naminé replied. "Okay, we just wanted to make sure."

"What are you doing, Rox?" Sora then questioned his cousin.

"Putting together my portfolio," he answered.

"What pictures have you chosen?" Riku asked.

"Some really good ones," Zexion said. "I wish I was as good as a photographer."

"Shut up. I'm not that great."

"Shut up. Yes you are."

"May we look at what you've done so far?" Naminé wondered.

"Nope. You can look when I'm done."

"That's not fair!" Sora complained. "Zexion has seen it!"

Zexion laughed. "I'm different."

"Oh yeah?" Kairi replied. "And what makes you so special?"

"I asked to help him."

Sora pouted, folding his arms across his chest. "Not cool."

"Oh yes Sora, because that's exactly how a high school graduate should act," Riku said sarcastically.

"You're so mature," Naminé added, using that same sarcasm. Then she laughed.

Just then, they heard the front door open and close again. And when Axel and Demyx entered the living room, everyone dropped what they were doing to focus on them. Roxas and Zexion rushed up to their boyfriends.

"So…how'd it go?" Roxas asked eagerly.

"Well, we were able to make it up," Demyx answered.

"Okay, how'd it go?" Zexion repeated the question.

Axel shrugged. "It went well, I guess."

"Our professor graded our exams right in front of us."

"And…?" Roxas and Zexion were in unison now.

"And he said that there was a reason he knew we were his favourite students," Axel said, a smile spreading across his face.

"What does that mean?" Zexion wondered.

Demyx was smiling now as well. "It means we aced the exam. And we were the only two who aced it, if I may add."

"That's awesome!" Roxas exclaimed.

"Congratulations you two," Kairi cut in.

"We knew you'd be able to do it," Naminé added.

"But how did you manage to convince your professor to let you make it up?" Riku wondered.

"I told him the reason why we missed it in the first place," Axel answered.

"And what did that do?" Sora asked.

"Well, as it turns out our professor also has a boyfriend," Demyx informed them all, laughing a bit.

"Nice!" Riku and Sora exclaimed together.

"Right?" Demyx replied, laughing more.

"And he thought what I did was very romantic, so he let it slide," Axel finished explaining. "But now we need some help unpacking the car," he then changed the subject.

"We'll help," Riku volunteered. He and Sora headed outside. Demyx and Zexion followed them out.

"What are you doing?" Axel asked Roxas, who had returned to his portfolio.

"You'll be able to see it when I'm done."

"Oh, is this your portfolio?"

"Yeah, but Zexion is the only who can see it right now," Kairi told him.

"Why only Zexion?"

"Because he offered to help Roxas," Naminé answered.

Axel laughed. "Fair enough."

He smiled back. "Thank you."

"When will it be done?"

"Soon."

"Okay. And you know, after Dem and I took the exam and our professor was grading them, he kept asking me about you."

"What did he ask?"

"A lot of stuff," Demyx answered, coming back in with two bags. Zexion, Riku and Sora followed after him, all of them carrying two bags as well. "There are a couple more bags."

"Wait," the blonde stopped the redhead, "what kind of things did your professor ask about me?"

"How long we've known each other, what you want to go to school for, your class ranking," Axel listed off the questions as he backed out of the living room.

"Ax pretty much had a college interview for you," Demyx stated.

"That's what it sounds like," Zexion thought aloud.

"But our professor said that the school would love to have someone like you," Axel finished.

"Really?" Roxas replied eagerly.

He smiled. "Yes really."

Riku smiled as well. "You know what that means, Rox; you best get that portfolio done and ready!"

"And then we'll be able to see it, too," Sora added, thinking aloud.

Roxas laughed at this comment. "All right. Then let Zexion and I retire to my room so we can finish putting my portfolio together."

"Very well," Demyx said back. "How long will it take at this point?"

Zexion shrugged. "We have no idea."

"Okay." Roxas gathered his things. "Let's go Zex."

With that said, Axel exited the house to grab the last two bags and Roxas and Zexion headed upstairs to Roxas's bedroom to complete the blonde's portfolio.


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Doing the Scene Right

By the time Roxas had actually finished putting his portfolio together, it was the middle of the night. And so everyone else was asleep. But that didn't stop him from going to Axel's room to show him his final pieces of work. He and Zexion had gone through so many. By the end, Zexion had passed out, so Roxas had to decide on his own. He was content with the finishing touches, though.

When Roxas opened Axel's bedroom room, he was surprised to find the redhead lying awake in his bed, laptop open.

"You're actually awake," he announced himself.

Axel turned his head. "So are you." He faced his computer screen again as the blonde entered the room. "Another bad dream?" he mocked jokingly.

"I finished it," he replied, holding out his portfolio, standing at the edge of the bed.

"Oh!" He set his laptop aside and sat up all the way, taking the portfolio from Roxas's hands. He began to flip through the pictures. "These are all so amazing, Rox."

He blushed, thankful that it was too dark for Axel to notice. "I didn't want to just have my best ones in there; I wanted my favourite ones in there, too."

"Well, they're all great."

"Thanks Ax."

He continued to flip through the pictures. There were shots of sunsets, shots of starry skies, shots of leaves changing colours, shots of ice on branches, shots of blooming flowers…and then there were shots of him.

"You like these pictures that much?" he spoke up.

Roxas checked the photos Axel was looking at. Then he shrugged, smiling. "Well, like I said before Axel; you can't take a bad picture."

He smiled back. "You're too cute, Rox."

There was another blush with more thanks to the darkness.

Then Axel came to the last picture; the one of the two of them atop the clock tower.

"Can you use this picture?"

"Why wouldn't I be able to?"

"Well, I'm the one who actually took it," he reminded the blonde.

He shrugged again. "So what? They don't know that. Besides, it's my all-time favourite."

The redhead put the portfolio aside. "Let's go back to Sunset Hill."

"Right now?"

"Yes right now."

His smile returned. "Okay."

And less than five minutes later, the couple was walking out the front door.

"No camera?" Axel realised a little into the walk.

"I couldn't bring it," Roxas replied. "If I take new pictures now, then I'll be too tempted to go back to my portfolio later and possibly change a few around and whatnot."

"I see." He nodded. "Sounds complicated."

He laughed a little. "Oh, it is."

The rest of the walk was a quiet one. And when they arrived at the hill, they just lay down on the grassy ground to gaze up at the stars together, still silent. Every so often, their outer arms shot up, pointing out particular stars and constellations, just like before. But this time, their inner arms stayed put so they could hold hands, their fingers intertwined. It was another peaceful night and, as usual, they were enjoying each other's company.

"Hey Axel," the blonde spoke up.

"Yeah Roxas?" the redhead replied.

"How did we end up this way?"

"What do you mean?"

"How did we end up together…like this?"

Axel shrugged. "Does it matter?"

Roxas then took his hand back and propped himself up on his elbows. "It's just that…we've practically always been best friends. So, how did this never happen before? Or how did it not happen sooner?"

"Wait…are you really making us go through this again?" he questioned when he realised what was going.

"Axel!"

He laughed. "You're thinking too much about it."

"Well, is this legit?"

Now he sighed, also sitting up. "Why are you trying to recreate this?"

"To take a bad memory and make it better."

"You're asking way too many questions, Rox."

"I just need to know…"

"What do you need to know?"

"That this is legit; that we're real."

He laughed a little more at this. "This is as real as it gets, Roxas." He lay back down and continued stargazing.

Roxas stayed propped up on his elbows. Then he rolled and he was over Axel again. He had one hand on each side of his head and one knee on each side of his hips.

The redhead only smiled. "And what do you think you're doing now?"

The blonde returned the smile and shrugged again. "Exactly what I did last time."

And then the blonde leaned forward and kissed the redhead. But this time, Axel wasn't caught by surprise. And as the kiss deepened, he wrapped his arms around Roxas's waist.

When they broke apart, their foreheads touched and they were both smiling again.

"Yeah, this feels real," Roxas confirmed.

"I told you it was," Axel replied.

Roxas then lay back down beside Axel. The redhead took the blonde's hand back in his and their fingers intertwined again, filling the empty spaces between them comfortably.

"Hey Axel," the blonde spoke up again.

The redhead chuckled a bit in reply. "Yes Roxas?"

"I think I love you," he admitted, blushing deeply.

"You think? Well," he sat up, but didn't let go of his hand, "I know I love you."

Roxas smiled, his blush deepening even more. Axel smiled back.

"Too cute, Rox," he said, laying back down.

"Shut up," he mumbled back.

Axel laughed more and Roxas joined in on the laughter now.

For once, everything really had worked out for the better.


	17. Epilogue: Talk of the Future

Once Axel and Roxas had returned to the house, the night was over. And when they walked inside, they realised that everyone else was already awake. The others all stopped eating as the two entered the kitchen.

"Were you two out all night?" Sora asked.

"Obviously," Riku answered sarcastically.

"Yeah, I woke up this morning and you were gone," Zexion said to Roxas.

"Sorry about that," Roxas replied.

"So, you two were out all night?" Kairi declared.

"Honestly, yes, we were," Axel confirmed.

"Well Rox, did you at least finish your portfolio?" Demyx wondered.

"As a matter of fact, I did."

"Let's see it, then!" Naminé exclaimed.

"All right. Just let me go get it." He rushed upstairs.

"So where did you two go all night?" Riku questioned Axel as he took a seat next across from him at the table.

"We just went back to Sunset Hill," Axel answered.

"All night?" Sora thought aloud.

"What did you two do?" Demyx asked curiously.

He shrugged. "We just watched the stars."

Zexion smiled. "That's so romantic."

"So adorable," Kairi added, also smiling.

"Shut up," Axel replied. "That's where we first fought, too," he then told them all. "So we made a good memory there."

"Awe, that's nice," Naminé said.

Roxas then returned with his portfolio. "Here it is," he announced, dropping it on the table. "Zex helped me with half of it. Then he fell asleep and I finished the rest on my own."

Zexion picked up the portfolio. Demyx, Riku and Sora all got up and surrounded him so they could also look at the pictures.

"Wow," Riku breathed. "I mean, I knew you took good photos, but these are just…wow."

"Aren't they?" Axel replied.

"So I fell asleep right before you started with your pictures of Axel," Zexion realised.

"Those are some good pictures, Ax," Sora said.

"Yeah, I thought you hated having your picture taken," Demyx recalled.

"I do," he confirmed.

"Let us see!" Kairi then said. She snatched the portfolio from Zexion so she and Naminé could look through it.

"These are beautiful," Naminé declared.

"You guys need to stop," Roxas spoke up.

"Why?" Axel wondered. "Let them flatter you."

"Yeah Rox, let us flatter you," Kairi replied. She laughed.

"Wow Axel, for someone who doesn't like getting his picture taken, you really are photogenic," Naminé pointed out.

"I am not," he denied.

"But you kinda are," she confirmed.

"C'mon Ax, let them flatter you," Demyx cut in, using the redhead's words against him.

"Ha, ha, you're so funny," he replied sarcastically.

"Well, this is amazing," Kairi then told Roxas, handing the portfolio back to him.

"Thanks." Roxas took it from her. "I'm gonna bring this back up to my room." He left and Axel followed.

"When are you gonna send that to the college?" the redhead questioned.

The blonde shrugged. "I don't know. I thought I was already in." He laughed.

He laughed back. "Don't worry, Roxas, you're gonna get in no matter what."

Now he sighed. "How do you know?"

Axel wrapped his arms around Roxas's waist from behind. "Because they'd be stupid not to accept you."

"Should you really be putting down your college like that?"

"If they don't accept you, then yes, I will."

He smiled and turned to face Axel. But he kept him arms around the blonde.

"You don't think we'll get sick of each other?"

The redhead shook his head. "Never."

With that said, they kissed; Axel's arms around Roxas's waist and Roxas's arms around Axel's neck.

It was a picture perfect moment; one only heard about in stories.


End file.
